Tag Archives: omega-3

It’s a sad thing to have a nut allergy and be attracted to the idea of peanut butter. It’s sad until you realize, oh… there are so so many ways to get a nutty taste, and fat, and cream and, yeah all the “bad” stuff peanut butter devourers crave. But, what’s splendid is that when you take out the fact that it’s a peanut you’re going to roast and turn into cream, and replace it with pumpkin seeds and grapeseed oil, you’re getting plenty of omega-3’s and good fats, a roasted nutty flavor, and something without any additives.
So, thank you nut allergy? Either way. Love it, so we’ve got the next episode of the Bubble Child cooking show. :)

So, lunch today was kind of unfair. I had leftover filet mignon from a local butcher and had just devised a recipe for a Thai “peanut sauce” without peanuts. Yes, that means I had filet mignon spring rolls. Yes, filet mignon spring rolls with a sauce I’ve never been able to taste in my life.

I’ve been rather addicted to these things lately. (Spring rolls that is.) Here’s why:

1. They’re easy to make (soak in water and roll!)

2. They’re naturally gluten-free (just rice and tapioca flour)

3. The texture is light and fun

“Fun” is a word to describe taste. Oh yes, should I ever be judge on Master Chef, it will be a criteria.

Since I am a Bubble Child of the sort where I will die in a very literal sense if I consume even a particle of a nut, I have never tasted a Thai peanut sauce. My friends swear by it. It has been something on my list of things to try should I have, say, a definite 1 minute left to live. It’d be great to never check that list off.

With that in mind, it has taken me years, and by years I mean 5, to figure out the right combination of flavor and spice to recreate the traditional peanut sauce. It means seeds, it means turmeric, it even means lemongrass powder if you can find some!

I highly recommend adopting spring rolls into your weekly gastronomic regimen. The shells save so easily and you can fill with whatever your heart fancies. It’s like a bunch of tiny burritos you get to eat in a row without feeling like a giant walking bean.

Teff flour has been one of my favorite substitutes for wheat flour for a while now. Teff milk was a new discovery today: I’m not sure that rice milk is the best thing to consume out of the lactose-free milks as it’s basically just sugar. It’s not bad, but it’s not rich, either. Teff milk has now been my favorite dairy-free milk for one day. A whole day. And now night.

It’s real here: baguette is something that surpasses stereotype. It surrounds the daily function of the Parisian, clings to the backs of those dedicated enough to leave an opening in their backpacks for the long strand of yeast-risen staple, breaks beneath the fingers of the eager who cannot make it home without finding the tip missing. Yup, baguette’s a thing. And today I wanted one real bad. That’s when I found teff flour for the first time in grocery stores here. Sha buy yah roll call

I think you’ve gotta be a bit of a geek to make it in this world. Tech-y stuff is all over, and what’s slightly paradoxical is that I’ve found the more I give up my old ways of traditional-is-better-because-it’s-more-human, unless I actually want to go Neanderthal, it’s hit me that these new advances in images and sound and things with computers and wires can actually make the human things we do more interesting.

It’s not like the computer made the baguette.

I say this because you may notice that these pictures look slightly better than the past. That’s because technically they are. I’ve succumbed to, with the greatest pleasure, an actual camera. It’s manual, I control things like aperture and shutter speed, and photoshop is now something taking up space in my hard drive. In between washing off the teff flour and gluten-free yeast from my hands, I spent my first day with my new ally in the kitchen. And then ate some baguette so I’d have something pretty to share with you. Of course, that was the only impetus to construct a plate like this.

Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl, adding salt at the very last second before you add liquid. (Salt will kill the yeast if left too long without the sugar to feed on.)

Add flax seed mixture and half of the teff milk. Knead with hands. Add honey/agave nectar and remainder of milk and more if needed to get a moist dough that is not sticky. If too dry, add more milk or a bit water. If sticky, add a bit of rice flour. Knead for about 5 minutes, form into a ball, and let rise in bowl covered with wet towel.

Knead again for 5 minutes, separate into three balls for mini baguettes, two balls for demi baguettes, or keep whole for a large baguette. Roll into a cylinder, then taper out the edges. Place on a prepared baking sheet (silicon mat and a light oiling will do quite well) and flatten a bit in the middle, and then fold in both edges (see photo at beginning of post). You’ll make a bit of a smushed taco. Flip over (the smush is the bottom of the baguette) and make lines with a small knife on the top. Cover with a damp towel and let rise about 1 1/2-2 hours minimum.* Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake bread for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with a fine layer of oil and sprinkle with salt. Place back in oven turned the other way, for even cooking, and bake another 10 minutes. If the inside or bottom is not cooked through, reduce heat to 375 F (185 degrees C) and bake for another 5-10 minutes. This really varies upon the size of your baguette and your oven. Remove from heat, let cool to touch, and consume within a day for freshness. To keep longer, keep it in the freezer until use.

*If preparing the night before, keep covered in the refrigerator and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours the next day.

If I were to be an animal when it came to breakfast, I would have to say I’d be something like a gerbil or maybe a goat or giraffe or something, because I love my whole grains. Growing up, before I realized what was making me bloat all the time, I had grains for breakfast every morning. I miss that. They taste so good, and I imagine they would make you feel great, too, if they didn’t send your stomach into a full space orbit every time they hit the small intestine.

TeeChia was like a little premature Easter Bunny gift sitting on my front porch last night when I arrived home late from work. The kind people of Santa Barbara had mailed two Bubble Child-safe samples to Bubble Child headquarters (aka my apartment) in Portland, Oregon, for some taste reviews. Well, TeeChia, your review gets a figurative stamp of approval and an A+.

Composed of tasty nuggets of dried fruit, chia, quinoa, amaranth, pumpkin, and flax, this cereal satisfies both your morning crunch and cream. Pour a little warm water on this blissfully just-sweet-enough cereal, let it expand, and top with your favorite milk (or not), and it is a powerful start to your day! Like the taste, the cereal is loaded with good energy: 6g of fiber, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, 26g of whole grains (which is my lucky number, so I am pleased!), and 6g of protein per serving. It’s the good energy that stays throughout the day, not food that stays in the belly.

<–Ready for H2O.

<–Rose and shined.

TeeChia is available in various health food stores and online atTeeChia.com. Cool thing: if you have a coffee allergy, they are the ones who make Teeccino, an excellent caffeine-free coffee alternative.